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China Models ‘Total War’ Scenario Amid Beijing-Washington Tensions Over Taiwan

© AFP 2023 / INDRANIL MUKHERJEEPeople's Liberation Army (PLA) of China soldiers. File photo
People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China soldiers. File photo - Sputnik International, 1920, 28.06.2023
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China and the US are at odds over the issue of Taiwan, with Beijing denouncing any official foreign contacts with Taipei and considering Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.
Chinese Navy scientists have modelled a scenario of a “total war” with a hypothetical “alliance” to test and evaluate the performance of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s new weapons. The scenario was published on a Chinese defense news website.
The researchers explained that the “total war” means that all available resources and efforts of the country are mobilized towards prevailing over an enemy. The resources include not only the military but also the civilian population and the economy.
US and Taiwan flags. File photo - Sputnik International, 1920, 28.06.2023
World
United States' 'Provocative Behavior' in Taiwan Issue Creates More Tensions in Sino-US Relations

Evaluating the warships in the survey, the authors designated the above-mentioned doomsday scenario with Z, arguing that “there is a clash of strategic willpower [as] the regional conflict [around Taiwan or in the South China Sea] escalates to a total war."

The PLA Navy scientists stressed that the scenario stipulates that diverse kinds of warships during different levels of tensions can demonstrate varying degrees of combat efficiency.

The researchers did not name any country which could become Beijing’s foe during a potential “total war”, but the enemy military hardware that appeared in their research, such as the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is on service at the US Navy and its allies.

The authors suggested that there would be five levels of intensity regarding an all-out war. The fifth level may see a “clash of strategic interests”, in which PLA Navy ships could be attacked by more than 11 types of missiles and three types of torpedoes.

US-Chinese Row Over Taiwan

Beijing-Washington tensions over Taiwan escalated again after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in April, with China launching massive three-day military drills near the island in what it called a "warning" to Taipei and foreign powers.
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a press conference on the seventh anniversary of her tenure, at the Presidential Office in Taipei on May 20, 2023. - Sputnik International, 1920, 20.05.2023
Asia
Taiwan President: War 'Not an Option' As Tensions With China Grow While Angling for More US Weapons
In early August 2022, then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, which was slammed by China as a gesture of support for separatism. Beijing held large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island in a retaliatory move at the time.

Beijing perceives Taiwan, which has been governed independently of mainland China since 1949, as an inalienable part of the PRC’s sovereign territory and opposes any official contact between the island and other countries.

Although the US does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Washington has a representative office in Taipei and remains the island's biggest supplier of military hardware. The US also often sends its warships and surveillance planes to the Taiwan Strait, with Beijing slamming such missions as provocations and dubbing Washington "a security risk creator in the region."
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